From adoption to amputation – Daisy's story

5 Weeks Post Amp.

For the first few days of Daisy’s recovery, I had decided that she and I would “bed down” on the landing of our split-level home—no stairs to navigate, and to go potty she just needed to go out the door and through the garage a few feet. It worked out very well. And although I didn’t get much sleep in my sleeping bag on the hard floor, I found the Tripawds website during this recovery time while browsing the net with my laptop, and that was a great find!

Just hanging out in the yard on a warm day.

Now that I know what some other pets have gone through, I can say I was very lucky in that Daisy’s recovery was quite uneventful. In fact, she surprised me on day 3 by navigating the stairs by herself (I had forgotten to put up the baby gate). From that day on she was back in her bed by my side of the bed, and we both slept much better. I didn’t have the Ruff Wear harness yet, as she had no protection over her stitches. Without even asking the vet, I decided to wait until the stitches came out. Instead, I used a towel under her belly to give her support going up and down the stairs. Probably the most eventful thing that happened was when I awakened at 4:45 a.m. on day 5 to Daisy’s very loud licking. First of all, I was surprised that she could reach the surgical site (front left leg), but the licking itself didn’t surprise me, as she had previously been licking her leg where the IV was inserted. The loudness of the licking did scare me a little, however. Imagine being awakened to loud s-l-u-r-r-r-p, s-l-u-r-r-r-p noises that can be readily heard over the sound machine in the bedroom! I first got the flashlight so as not to awaken my husband, but what I saw scared me even more, as it appeared she had broken a stitch and was oozing from that area. Not knowing what to do and starting to freak out, I then woke my husband for support. He promptly dressed and headed to the nearest 24-hour drug store, returning with a package of surgical dressings that we held in place with an Ace bandage. Even though Dr. Pomeroy had given me his home number for emergencies, I did not think this constituted one and waited until office hours to call him. He reassured me that she had most likely not broken a stitch but rather was just licking up the extra fluid that was oozing from the site, and he was right. (There was no drainage tube inserted during the surgery, and he had warned me this might happen. However, that little detail was lost among all the other things to think about at that time!) The oozing lasted for less than 2 days, but while it was going on the surgical dressings, with their multiple layers, worked very well to absorb the flow.

With her Ruff Wear harness--3 wks post amp

Daisy is gradually building up her stamina (remember, she’s 12). And while it’s doubtful we’ll ever go for walks of any length (although I’m not ruling it out, as so far everything has gone better than expected), as of yesterday (her 5-week ampuversary) she’s the same playful girl who loves to retrieve the ball and swim in the river near us (with her life jacket on). Life is so very good! There is still a prayer team focusing on her recovery and continued wellness, and I thank God every day for the gift of Daisy.

What a beautiful girl! She looks a lot like Mackenzie in the face 🙂 . So glad to hear she’s so doing well. That’s pawesome that she got on the stairs after only the 3rd day and swimming too?? And she’s 12??? Wow, Daisy is an amazing girl!

You are putting us older gals to shame with your youngster athletic abilities! The stairs???!!! Sheesh! I’m not even 12 yet but I catch a free ride from daddy. I don’t from mommy because she fell down them carry a glass of ice tea and I don’t trust her since I weigh way more than a glass of ice tea! What a clutz! (I’ll give her credit though, she did save the glass even if she spilled all of the tea!) Bwahahahaha!

So my point Miss Daisy-do is – stop making the other senior gals look like granny dogs! I have a motorized scooter on my wish list and if my mom finds out that 12 years old can do as much as you – she’ll never buy me one!
Okay, I don’t really need it but I want to run over my ugly Monkeybutt brother and make it look like an accident! (Oops! Sorry, Monkeybutt I didn’t see you!)

Daisy, you are a role model for senior Tripawds everywhere. Mind if we point to you as an example of all that is pawsible after amputation?

Your Mom has a lot to do with it too. By staying calm and focusing on the pawsitive, you make a great team that helps create a real healing environment. I wish more humans were as cool and collected at your Mom. Great job!

Daisy says she’s happy to be a role model for senior Tripawds everywhere, but watch your language! “Senior” isn’t a word she’s fond of. She sees herself as a youngster and dares you to prove otherwise!

Nice job bouncing back, Daisy. And I don’t blame you for not liking the “S” word. I’ll be 10 next month, and my Daddy says I still look and act like a puppy. I say us “mature” women just have to show all these youngsters how to really live.